[CPProt.net] HEREFORD, Pa.: Thieves make off with 900-pound snake

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Thieves make off with 900-pound snake
HEREFORD, Pa., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania sculptor has lost the
900-pound 90-foot snake that took him six months to create. 

Val Bertola says the sculpture, "Long Going Snake," was stolen from his
studio property during Thanksgiving, the Berks-Mont News reported. He came
back from a holiday visit to friends in Minnesota to find it gone. 

The snake was made of copper tubing and Bertola and the police agree that
may have been the motive for the crime. The copper tubing in the snake could
be sold for about $2,000, although Bertola values the sculpture at $90,000. 

The snake was designed so children could play inside it. Not long before the
theft, Bertola moved it to a site next to a driveway up to his studio so
more visitors could see it. 

Now he is rethinking his security and has already chained other outdoor
sculptures down.

http://www.upi.com/